Detection of invisible biological traces in relation to the physicochemical properties of substrates surfaces in forensic casework.

Touch DNA, which can be found at crime scenes, consists of invisible biological traces deposited through a person's skin's contact with an object or another person. Many factors influence touch DNA transfer, including the "destination" substrate's surface. The latter's physicochemical characteristics (wettability, roughness, surface energy, etc.

Targeting cell-derived markers to improve the detection of invisible biological traces for the purpose of genetic-based criminal identification.

At a crime scene, investigators are faced with a multitude of traces. Among them, biological traces are of primary interest for the rapid genetic-based identification of individuals. "Touch DNA" consists of invisible biological traces left by the simple contact of a person's skin with objects.